Chapter 98

Shen Qing's Qi trembled slightly, wiping the fresh blood off the Crimson Sky.

Shen Qing had thought a Grand Master would let him go all-out once, but he hadn't expected that Yuan Zhenshan's fiercest attack would be an injury-for-injury blow that struck him with a staff.

It didn't even break Shen Qing's Diamond Glazed Body.

Shen Qing sheathed his blade, strode toward the other trembling Yuan family members, and the whole Yuan clan kowtowed madly begging for mercy.

Meanwhile, at the edge, Xu Dashan, who had barely recovered his Qi, finally arrived at the battlefield.

But as soon as Xu Dashan reached the battlefield, he was dumbfounded.

Because at this moment Shen Qing's might was unparalleled, his whole body still emanating glazed white light, plus his handsome face and tranquil eyes like autumn water, he was like a deity wandering the world.

What's worse, the Yuan family members before Shen Qing kept kowtowing nonstop.

Xu Dashan rubbed his eyes and swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva.

"Lord Shen couldn't really be a deity descended to the mortal realm, could he?"

A beautiful-faced woman knelt before Shen Qing, crying with tears like pear blossoms in rain.

"Lord Shen! Please spare us!"

"The one who moved against you is already dead, and colluding with Japanese pirates is not us."

"We other Yuan family members are innocent, Lord Shen! Lord Shen! As long as you give us a way to live, you can do whatever you want with us."

Saying this, she also reached out, tugged at her shoulder clothing, revealing a patch of snow-white.

Xu Dashan immediately came to his senses, shouting as he ran.

"Lord Shen! Don't believe her, the Yuan family has no good people."

Xu Dashan, as a veteran Captain of North Cloud City, knew the Yuan family's filth inside out.

Previously suppressed by the Yuan family to the point of breathlessness, today he finally had a powerful backer who could suppress the Yuan family.

Those words they dared not speak before—if not now, when would they wait for?

"Lord Shen! This woman is definitely not a good person."

"Her name is Yuan Yin; five years ago in North Yang Village she killed five infants in a row, after being investigated the Yuan family just found a scapegoat, and years have passed, she remains at large to this day."

Shen Qing watched the woman's face grow ever paler: "Crocodile tears, truly ugly."

With a casual finger-point, Shen Qing shattered her into fragments.

Xu Dashan then pointed at a man: "This one is even worse; although he hasn't killed anyone personally, he's a loan shark, and the number of families ruined by him is already beyond counting."

Loan shark, i. e., usury.

In this feudal age, owing usury truly meant the sky had fallen.

These people will only eat you clean.

Shen Qing also couldn't be bothered to say more; with a direct finger-point, he turned him into a blood mist.

Seeing Xu Dashan still about to continue speaking, Shen Qing simply pushed him aside with a palm.

"Just shut your mouth for me."

"Do I have to kill one while you talk about one? With so many people, I'd wait till dawn for you to finish."

After saying that, Shen Qing raised his palm, swung it out, and his overbearing Qi sliced like a blade, flesh and blood flying.

Xu Dazhan stared for a moment, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, 'Exactly, Shen Qing is famous for his efficiency—if I keep going like this, I'll have to kill all those Yuan family members until the Year of the Monkey and Horse Month!'

Shen Qing lifted his foot and walked toward the outside of the Yuan residence.

'Xu Dazhan, the aftermath here is left for you to handle.'

'At dawn tomorrow, you will drag Yuan Zhenshan's corpse around the whole city, paying special attention to the great families, officials, and martial sects.'

'Let them understand.'

'Beiyun City has changed.'

In one night, the Embroidered Uniform Guard launched a thunderous strike in Beiyun City.

Besides the 209 wokou recorded in the document, they also incidentally discovered many more wokou.

The battle that should have ended at dawn was stubbornly continued until just before noon before it ended.

At noon, the hall of the Jianfu Si.

All the hundred-household officers sitting here rarely showed a smile.

A hundred-household officer laughed heartily: 'Great! It's been a long time since I felt this good—we captured over two hundred wokou in one go!'

'Isn't that right? I feel exhilarated; just now I went to the prison and told Liu Wei and those two traitors about this—you didn't see their grimacing faces.'

'Do you think our newly arrived Magistrate Shen could actually be a deity?'

'A twenty-year-old Jianfu Si commander, single-handedly killed a grand master—if that isn't a deity, what else could explain it?'

'Have you forgotten Magistrate Shen's nickname? The world‑passing Yama! Whatever you say, he's Yama.'

'Never mind that; I'm truly convinced now—if Magistrate Shen is a deity, we'll be heavenly soldiers; if he's Yama, we'll be little ghosts.'

Everyone burst out laughing.

Just then, Shen Qing entered the hall, and all the hundred-household officers immediately rose.

'Greetings, Magistrate Shen!'

'Capturing the wokou has made everyone quite happy.' Shen Qing smiled, took his seat at the head, and waved his hand: 'Please, be seated.'

'Everyone's so happy—how did the wokou captures go?'

A hundred-household officer hurriedly handed over the register: 'Sir, everything's been sorted—please take a look.'

'All 209 wokou listed in the register were captured without omission; as a bonus, we also found and captured additional wokou, bringing the total to 267, all now in prison.'

Shen Qing glanced through it a few times and raised his eyebrows.

This time really dealt a heavy blow to the wokou; these wokou somewhat know the Dawu language—frankly, they are a cost, and it's not easy for the wokou to train someone who speaks Dawu.

At least in the short term, it will be hard to train another two hundred like them; Beiyun City is bound to settle down.

Shen Qing handed the booklet to the scholar: "Scholar, record their merits one by one according to the booklet."

Upon hearing this, all the Captains exchanged glances.

"Sir Shen Qing,... do we still have any merit?"

After all, this is due to their dereliction of duty; even if we now capture the Japanese pirates back, it's merely making up for it.

They dare not even think of earning merit anymore.

Shen Qing waved his hand: "I don't want to talk about more; I don't want to dwell on the past either. Since we've caught them, it's over."

"I also have my own rules."

"If you work for me, Shen Qing, I'll allocate merit to you."

"From now on, work diligently; your merit will be indispensable."

The Captains immediately rose: "Thank you, Sir Shen Qing!"

The big stick has been enough; if we keep hitting these Captains with the big stick, they'll be knocked out—we need to give them some sweet dates.

Shen Qing waved his hand: "Alright, this matter isn't over yet."

"There are over two hundred Japanese pirates; there's definitely a big fish among them."

"Thoroughly interrogate them, especially those at the Innate Realm—give them special attention! I want them to spill even what they ate during last year's New Year."

Each Captain immediately patted his chest: "Sir Shen Qing! Before, we were derelict in our duty, but if we say we will interrogate the prisoners, we certainly have no problem!"

"In three days, I guarantee they'll spill even their underpants."